And “Every Republican accusation is a confession.”
Understand those two and you realize they are the truth of the Republicans:
- The only thing they want to do is hurt others.
- They will scream that others are committing the crimes that they themselves are doing. “Sure, I’m the one banning books but you’re the one trying to censor people!”
Doesn't the defiance of Alabama and Louisiana constitute rebellion against the United States under the fourteenth amendment? The governors and participating legislators should be declared ineligible for office by the Court.
DOJ will probably never go as far as to indict a sitting governor or state legislator for rebellion against the United States. IMO there's at least a reasonable argument against doing so.
When Arkansas defied the federal government in 1957, one of the ways Gov. Faubus rallied support is with his claim that President Eisenhower had ordered his arrest. Of course he was lying.
IMO had Faubus actually been arrested or indicted, the potential for violence against African Americans and the federal troops Eisenhower sent in would have escalated dramatically. We saw what armed neo-Confederates, neo-Nazis, assorted other white supremacisits, QAnon crazies, and fascists were capable of on January 6. I don't think there's any doubt they're capable of doing something like that again, especially in states that haven't aggressively prosecuted white supremacists in the past few years.
If anyone had told me when I moved to the United States 32 years ago that one of our two major political parties was going to embrace cruelty and bigotry as parts of its political platform, I'd have told them that they were crazy. Yet, here we are.
From a historical standpoint, the violent racists have always lurked, ready to throw their weight in with whatever party would give them a political home. Before it was Southern Democrats. Now it’s mainstream Republicanism.
I recently watched the new Oppenheimer movie and was reminded of the Republican’s deep seated hate of liberals. They harassed those who they saw as liberal (or anyone who had thoughts or interests in anything other than conservatism) relentlessly. J Edgar Hoover’s FBI wrote down license plates of those who gathered for meetings & discussions or attempted to form unions. And when Oppenheimer decided to speak out against the bomb he helped create he was cruelly & publicly humiliated. The point I’m trying to make is this: Republicans, Racists, Conservatives have always been cruel & vicious. Today’s Republican Party is only their latest resurgence.
You're young, aren't you.....it has not always been the case. Keep in mind, KKK were Democrats until the Civil Rights Era. And Republican Lincoln freed the slaves. But the Republican party now, is not even conservative. It's fascist.
Ian Mark Sirota. It is indeed a very sad day in America. Land of the Free, Home of the Brave - but in some cases today, it's the land and home of some heartless, sadistic people which is unthinkable to me and hard to grasp.
Very true. It was possible to imagine that the GOP was reasonable for some time as long as they spoke in code, and the people listening were white so they weren't the immediate target.
Once they were more obvious and expanded beyond just minorities it got harder to ignore what they had become.
Hit them where it hurts and simply withhold all Federal funding until they comply. They are either part of the Union, or they aren't. No compliance, no money.
I’m not sure that would have the effect we want, given which demographics are the recipient of that money… Also, with the House in the hands of the GOP, I’m not sure how you do it.
Maybe folks will rise up if these rogue states continue to defy the law and the spigot of federal money stops. Red states receive more federal money than blue states anyway.
Oh how sweet would it have been if 5 minutes after the deadline had passed President had ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to clear the barriers. The look on Abbott's face would become an all time favorite meme.
In a way, I have to agree. The victims are the point and we can't let it continue. Legal challenges are slow (duh!) and how many more have to horrifically cut or die?
I'm appalled at the "Christian" rhetoric while this is going on. Send the army in to remove the wire, THEN settle in court.
What with certain parties in Texas actively advocating for succession, and now Alabama testing the waters, I'm more than a little concerned that these are not just political stunts. The activities in Florida. The stench of 1859-61 is all over these acts. Color all that with the MAGA romanticized vision of the South, and Trump's violent rhetoric, I think all of this bears close watch.
OTOH, not one of those states could survive without the subsidies of the Federal government, so if that's what they want to do, I say "go ahead" this time, we'll let you and we'll be watching how you cope with being sovereign without the largess of the US Federal government.
I have to admit my head is in a dark place right now as I wait for the vet to put down my elderly dog. I may be reading too much into all this because of that. But in my heart, I don't think so.
All these references to the southern states and whether they will/should attempt to succeed does not take into account places like Idaho or Indiana or the Dakotas, all passing draconian laws but not southern states. And then there is the movement in eastern Oregon to succeed from the rest of the state...
Wallace changed his tone at the end of his life, so let's be fair with that. BUT you are correct about the Civil War, and I have a bad feeling about how this is going down.
Wallace claimed to be a born~again Christian in the late seventies, well into his third term as Governor of Alabama. He changed his stance on segregation but was never even in the outskirts of the Civil Rights Movement.
Thanks for a well written article that explained a lot more than our press is revealing. I'm shocked that genocide has been allowed to go on for this long at the Rio Grande.
Thank you for raising the alarm about the increasingly illegal and fanatical behavior by the GQP-infested states. Likely the only thing they would pay attention to is to cut off ALL federal funding until they comply. Sadly, this would only hurt the innocent since these "governors" (I use that term grudgingly) would likely twist things around to make sure that none of their friends or pet projects were affected.
It will be interesting to see if the Robert's Kangaroo court does anything useful or drags their feet and runs out the clock. Based on past behavior, I fear they will do nothing until it's too late. Yet they whine and wonder why the country has ZERO respect for the political hacks that make up the majority on the formerly Supreme court. . .
Considering that 16 AG'S have sent letters to Fortune 500 companies threatening " actions " to those companies who have shown reverse discrimination by hiring diverse persons for their companies and NOT hiring only white candidates ! Or how about these same AG'S demanding the medical records of females who left the state for abortion care or persons who went to get transgender care ! And the hospitals caving to these demands ! Why is there no screaming from the rooftops about this ! Why doesn't the media sources report this ! The United States of America is fucked !!!!
It’s tempting to paint the entire south as complicit. But behind those state lines are millions of poor, Black citizens and other vulnerable communities that need the protection of our laws.
Considering the Right's love of Putin and fascism, had we let the South secede, by now we would have the worst of our enemies poised at a very long and unenforceable border. We could even have foreign military bases and nukes placed along that border, because those former states would be so poor and their leaders so power hungry that they would make any kind of deal with the devil. I would love to jettison some of those states since they are a blight on our democracy but the reality would be devastating.
Not just that. The south relied on slave labor; eventually slavery would have ended. All the manufacturing was done in the north. There was one factory in Richmond and that was it.
I think with both Abbott and deathsantis, cruelty is the point ! I think both of these douche bags get off on the cruelty! There needs to be more protests against this treatment of human beings ! I can't believe that the majority of human beings are ok with the treatment of these poor desperate people who only want a safe place for themselves and their family ! How would people feel about if it was their loved one in the same situation! The repugnants are cruel and disgusting, every last one of them, none of them have redeeming qualities , not one of them !! The people who have a conscience, who have empathy, who have a heart need to stand up and demand that all these actions to prevent the rights of others , the marginalized, the disenfranchised, POC , women , the LGBTQ + and any others need to be removed! We the people need to stand up and fight against this tyranny or the USA will be gone and in its place will be a Christofascist dictatorship !
Democrats have an opportunity here, to raise awareness of climate impacts specific to these red states, their food supply which in many cases is also their livelihood, they have the most to lose with climate denial from their current f'd up leadership. Mother Nature is gonna cook the shrimp, crawdads and other thin skinned marine life before they can harvest them which will impact seafood prices and predator feeding habits like a domino fall.
They will burn it all to the ground for a chance to "own the libs". Then they will blame it on progressives despite all evidence to the contrary. It is now their permanent playbook.
“...all without giving too much oxygen to these dangerous stunts that use humans as pawns in sick, political games.”
So... fight strongly against the Republicans’ illegal and inhumane actions but keep quiet about what those actions are?
Why oh why are liberals so utterly reluctant to call Republicans out on their shit?
“He’s in the bell tower with a rifle so let’s call the police to stop him, but let’s downplay why the cops are storming the building.” leads to people questioning the cops’s actions rather than condemning the shooter’s.
“Giving oxygen” to Republican political stunts helps show everyone that they are just political stunts. It helps turn opinion against Republicans and weakens them.
The Biden Administration should have directed the Coast Guard or Army Corps of Engineers to remove the impediments to navigation based on Supreme Court precedent, making the Texas governor file suit. The current action wastes time and makes the federal government look weak.
Re Alabama: The Roberts Court's decision to end the Voting Rights Act enforcement was very impactful. Negatively.
Re Teaxs: The law is clear. The politics is not. Having spent some time in Texas over the last few years, I learned that within that state the anger over immigration is quite widespread. It remains a potent political weapon, enabling the inhumane performative politics. More messaging about the very positive economic impact of immigration on the US is really needed.
Re: TX and Abbott-- Cruelty is the point, and the only point.
Re: AL and LA: Resistance is the point, much in the way Southern states ignored Brown v Board of Education for years.
“Cruelty is the point, and the only point.”
And “Every Republican accusation is a confession.”
Understand those two and you realize they are the truth of the Republicans:
- The only thing they want to do is hurt others.
- They will scream that others are committing the crimes that they themselves are doing. “Sure, I’m the one banning books but you’re the one trying to censor people!”
You are a clueless troll. I’m guessing you don’t know a single person that lives near the TX border with the Cartels.
Umm, unless you're built like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime, I wouldn't wear that teeshirt in a redneck bar in rural Texas...just sayin'.
Doesn't the defiance of Alabama and Louisiana constitute rebellion against the United States under the fourteenth amendment? The governors and participating legislators should be declared ineligible for office by the Court.
No, not in any technical legal sense. Rebellion and insurrection always involve the use of force.
DOJ will probably never go as far as to indict a sitting governor or state legislator for rebellion against the United States. IMO there's at least a reasonable argument against doing so.
When Arkansas defied the federal government in 1957, one of the ways Gov. Faubus rallied support is with his claim that President Eisenhower had ordered his arrest. Of course he was lying.
IMO had Faubus actually been arrested or indicted, the potential for violence against African Americans and the federal troops Eisenhower sent in would have escalated dramatically. We saw what armed neo-Confederates, neo-Nazis, assorted other white supremacisits, QAnon crazies, and fascists were capable of on January 6. I don't think there's any doubt they're capable of doing something like that again, especially in states that haven't aggressively prosecuted white supremacists in the past few years.
If anyone had told me when I moved to the United States 32 years ago that one of our two major political parties was going to embrace cruelty and bigotry as parts of its political platform, I'd have told them that they were crazy. Yet, here we are.
From a historical standpoint, the violent racists have always lurked, ready to throw their weight in with whatever party would give them a political home. Before it was Southern Democrats. Now it’s mainstream Republicanism.
I recently watched the new Oppenheimer movie and was reminded of the Republican’s deep seated hate of liberals. They harassed those who they saw as liberal (or anyone who had thoughts or interests in anything other than conservatism) relentlessly. J Edgar Hoover’s FBI wrote down license plates of those who gathered for meetings & discussions or attempted to form unions. And when Oppenheimer decided to speak out against the bomb he helped create he was cruelly & publicly humiliated. The point I’m trying to make is this: Republicans, Racists, Conservatives have always been cruel & vicious. Today’s Republican Party is only their latest resurgence.
You're young, aren't you.....it has not always been the case. Keep in mind, KKK were Democrats until the Civil Rights Era. And Republican Lincoln freed the slaves. But the Republican party now, is not even conservative. It's fascist.
Ian Mark Sirota. It is indeed a very sad day in America. Land of the Free, Home of the Brave - but in some cases today, it's the land and home of some heartless, sadistic people which is unthinkable to me and hard to grasp.
Very true. It was possible to imagine that the GOP was reasonable for some time as long as they spoke in code, and the people listening were white so they weren't the immediate target.
Once they were more obvious and expanded beyond just minorities it got harder to ignore what they had become.
I don't really "like" this, but I do agree
Hit them where it hurts and simply withhold all Federal funding until they comply. They are either part of the Union, or they aren't. No compliance, no money.
I’m not sure that would have the effect we want, given which demographics are the recipient of that money… Also, with the House in the hands of the GOP, I’m not sure how you do it.
Are you sure??? ....that's throwing the baby out with the bath water!. Only the poor and weak population will suffer in those states.
Maybe folks will rise up if these rogue states continue to defy the law and the spigot of federal money stops. Red states receive more federal money than blue states anyway.
Oh how sweet would it have been if 5 minutes after the deadline had passed President had ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to clear the barriers. The look on Abbott's face would become an all time favorite meme.
That might have the effect of making Texas look like a victim. I’m not sure. The right way to go is with the law, when it is clearly on your side.
Remove it first then go to court. Protect of the victims before everything else. Why give Abbott months of success?
In a way, I have to agree. The victims are the point and we can't let it continue. Legal challenges are slow (duh!) and how many more have to horrifically cut or die?
I'm appalled at the "Christian" rhetoric while this is going on. Send the army in to remove the wire, THEN settle in court.
The current Supreme Court is not the law on our side!
That seems like a fair response. I hope that it’s something they’ll consider.
What with certain parties in Texas actively advocating for succession, and now Alabama testing the waters, I'm more than a little concerned that these are not just political stunts. The activities in Florida. The stench of 1859-61 is all over these acts. Color all that with the MAGA romanticized vision of the South, and Trump's violent rhetoric, I think all of this bears close watch.
OTOH, not one of those states could survive without the subsidies of the Federal government, so if that's what they want to do, I say "go ahead" this time, we'll let you and we'll be watching how you cope with being sovereign without the largess of the US Federal government.
It’s not at all clear where this leads, I agree.
I have to admit my head is in a dark place right now as I wait for the vet to put down my elderly dog. I may be reading too much into all this because of that. But in my heart, I don't think so.
I’m so sorry Christina…maybe take a break for a bit, that’s a lot to handle all at once. We will be here when you are ready!
I will.
All these references to the southern states and whether they will/should attempt to succeed does not take into account places like Idaho or Indiana or the Dakotas, all passing draconian laws but not southern states. And then there is the movement in eastern Oregon to succeed from the rest of the state...
But Texas, Alabama and Florida seem to be testing the waters, which the other states are not, perhaps knowing they couldn't survive independently.
One major cause of the Civil War was State’s Rights vs Federal Rights. If anyone thinks the GOP is not the Southern Democrats revived, learn fast!!
PS Wallace got his just reward.
Wallace changed his tone at the end of his life, so let's be fair with that. BUT you are correct about the Civil War, and I have a bad feeling about how this is going down.
Wallace claimed to be a born~again Christian in the late seventies, well into his third term as Governor of Alabama. He changed his stance on segregation but was never even in the outskirts of the Civil Rights Movement.
Abbott hasn't a leg to stand on.
Wicked...two thumbs up!
Boom!
Thanks for a well written article that explained a lot more than our press is revealing. I'm shocked that genocide has been allowed to go on for this long at the Rio Grande.
Thank you for raising the alarm about the increasingly illegal and fanatical behavior by the GQP-infested states. Likely the only thing they would pay attention to is to cut off ALL federal funding until they comply. Sadly, this would only hurt the innocent since these "governors" (I use that term grudgingly) would likely twist things around to make sure that none of their friends or pet projects were affected.
It will be interesting to see if the Robert's Kangaroo court does anything useful or drags their feet and runs out the clock. Based on past behavior, I fear they will do nothing until it's too late. Yet they whine and wonder why the country has ZERO respect for the political hacks that make up the majority on the formerly Supreme court. . .
Considering that 16 AG'S have sent letters to Fortune 500 companies threatening " actions " to those companies who have shown reverse discrimination by hiring diverse persons for their companies and NOT hiring only white candidates ! Or how about these same AG'S demanding the medical records of females who left the state for abortion care or persons who went to get transgender care ! And the hospitals caving to these demands ! Why is there no screaming from the rooftops about this ! Why doesn't the media sources report this ! The United States of America is fucked !!!!
Isn't it against HIPPA for hospitals or doctors to turn over medical records to the state?
Link for the AG letter-writing assertion?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelperegrine/2023/07/18/state-attorney-generals-warning-to-ceos-may-chill-dei-initiatives/?sh=37235ebf1583
Sometimes I wonder why the North fought so hard to maintain the Union. Sometimes I think they should have let the Confederacy secede.🤔
It’s tempting to paint the entire south as complicit. But behind those state lines are millions of poor, Black citizens and other vulnerable communities that need the protection of our laws.
Considering the Right's love of Putin and fascism, had we let the South secede, by now we would have the worst of our enemies poised at a very long and unenforceable border. We could even have foreign military bases and nukes placed along that border, because those former states would be so poor and their leaders so power hungry that they would make any kind of deal with the devil. I would love to jettison some of those states since they are a blight on our democracy but the reality would be devastating.
True. I always imagine the Confederacy would have failed and tried to rejoin the Union.
I doubt the confederacy would’ve survived on its own. Red states receive more federal funds than blue states.
Not just that. The south relied on slave labor; eventually slavery would have ended. All the manufacturing was done in the north. There was one factory in Richmond and that was it.
Agree.
Lincoln was right to keep the country together.
I think with both Abbott and deathsantis, cruelty is the point ! I think both of these douche bags get off on the cruelty! There needs to be more protests against this treatment of human beings ! I can't believe that the majority of human beings are ok with the treatment of these poor desperate people who only want a safe place for themselves and their family ! How would people feel about if it was their loved one in the same situation! The repugnants are cruel and disgusting, every last one of them, none of them have redeeming qualities , not one of them !! The people who have a conscience, who have empathy, who have a heart need to stand up and demand that all these actions to prevent the rights of others , the marginalized, the disenfranchised, POC , women , the LGBTQ + and any others need to be removed! We the people need to stand up and fight against this tyranny or the USA will be gone and in its place will be a Christofascist dictatorship !
Democrats have an opportunity here, to raise awareness of climate impacts specific to these red states, their food supply which in many cases is also their livelihood, they have the most to lose with climate denial from their current f'd up leadership. Mother Nature is gonna cook the shrimp, crawdads and other thin skinned marine life before they can harvest them which will impact seafood prices and predator feeding habits like a domino fall.
https://seatemperature.info/gulf-of-mexico-water-temperature.html
They will burn it all to the ground for a chance to "own the libs". Then they will blame it on progressives despite all evidence to the contrary. It is now their permanent playbook.
“...all without giving too much oxygen to these dangerous stunts that use humans as pawns in sick, political games.”
So... fight strongly against the Republicans’ illegal and inhumane actions but keep quiet about what those actions are?
Why oh why are liberals so utterly reluctant to call Republicans out on their shit?
“He’s in the bell tower with a rifle so let’s call the police to stop him, but let’s downplay why the cops are storming the building.” leads to people questioning the cops’s actions rather than condemning the shooter’s.
“Giving oxygen” to Republican political stunts helps show everyone that they are just political stunts. It helps turn opinion against Republicans and weakens them.
The Biden Administration should have directed the Coast Guard or Army Corps of Engineers to remove the impediments to navigation based on Supreme Court precedent, making the Texas governor file suit. The current action wastes time and makes the federal government look weak.
It would seem so but the rule of law is the point. The Federal government must abide by it if it expects the states to do the same.
I think my suggestion is entirely within the rule of law. The Texas governor is the one who is ignoring it. No reason to succumb to his gamesmanship.
Re Alabama: The Roberts Court's decision to end the Voting Rights Act enforcement was very impactful. Negatively.
Re Teaxs: The law is clear. The politics is not. Having spent some time in Texas over the last few years, I learned that within that state the anger over immigration is quite widespread. It remains a potent political weapon, enabling the inhumane performative politics. More messaging about the very positive economic impact of immigration on the US is really needed.